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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: board · kid · track · cell · content · date · drill · stand

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. board — a committee
  3. kid — to tease
  4. track — a song
  5. drill — army training
  6. drill — the tool
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. drill — a practice
  10. cell — a phone
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. date — the fruit
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. kid — child
  16. content — happy
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — in biology
  19. stand — to bear
  20. content — the amount
  21. track — a path
  22. track — to keep track
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. board — to get on

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com